Declan Rice has admitted that David Beckham was the inspiration behind his long-range goal that started Arsenal's comeback against Chelsea on Satuday.
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Rice scored from distanceWas inspired by Beckham documentaryGoal sparked Arsenal comebackWHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal trailed 2-0 at Stamford Bridge before Rice capitalised on a mistake from Robert Sanchez. The Blues goalkeeper's wayward pass went straight to the midfielder and he smashed it first time into the net from outside the box. A few minutes later, Leandro Trossard went on to score another for the Gunners, securing a 2-2 draw.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The England star says he had legendary midfielder Beckham's famous goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon on his mind after he saw the recent Netflix documentary on him.
WHAT THEY SAID
"Everyone’s been talking about this Beckham documentary, and I watched it for the first time last night," Rice said to club media. "The first couple of clips are the game against Wimbledon where he scored from the halfway line and I took a lot of belief from that.
"I was just thinking that it was bizarre that I watched it last night, and then obviously today taking that shot first time and scoring. It was a special goal to kickstart our comeback, you’ve got to keep shooting – if you shoot, you score!
"In a player’s mind, you get a split second to make a decision. It’s the quickest thing that you have to do; you've got to think whether you pass the ball, Leo was free in front of me, or you go for goal yourself. I’ve just watched it back, it was a great finish so I was happy with that."
GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Arsenal hope to make it three games without defeat when they meet Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday.